Police shootings touch nerve among military veterans

SAN DIEGO - Back-to-back attacks on police in Texas and Louisiana by former military men have struck a nerve among veterans who traditionally share a close bond with law enforcement.

Veterans and active-duty troops started posting messages on social media almost immediately after the news broke last weekend that a masked ex-Marine had ambushed law enforcement along a busy highway, killing three officers.

One victim was a fellow former Marine and Army soldier who served in Iraq.

The Baton Rouge, Louisiana shooting came less than two weeks after five Dallas police officers were shot by an Army Reserve veteran who did an Afghanistan tour.

Many veterans fear the military service records of the gunmen will fuel stereotyping of combat veterans as volatile and violent and turn back years of efforts to eliminate that perception.